Switching attachment for railway-cars.



PATENTED NOV. 7, 1905.

H. FENSKB. SWITCHING ATTACHMENT FOR RAILWAY CARS.

APPLICATION TILED JUNE 26, 1905.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 7, 1905.

Application filed June 26, 1905. Serial No. 267,062-

To alZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMAN FENSKE, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of St. Louis, Missouri, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Switching Attachments for Railway-Cars, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in switching attachments forrailway-cars; and it consists of the novel arrangement, construction,and combination of parts, as will be fully hereinafter described andclaimed.

The object of my invention is to equip a railway-car with a devicewhereby the trucks are operated laterally by a lever mechanism operatedby compressed air, the said trucks being so manipulated for rounding acurve without the use of rail-switches.

A further object of my invention is to be able by means of a levermechanism operated by compressed air to impart lateral motion to each ofthe trucks, the same hugging closely to the rail which forms the curveover which the car is adapted to be conveyed.

in the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of the trucks detached fromthe car-body, showing my invention connected therewith. Fig. 2 is a sideview of the same. Fig. 3 isa detail perspective view of the levers madeuse of in carrying out my invention. Fig. 4 is a detail top plan view ofa modified form of lever mechanism.

Referring to the drawings in detail, 5 and 6 indicate the trucks of anordinary railwaycar, and 7 and 8 the rails on which said trucks areconveyed.

8 and 9 are compressed-air cylinders, in which operate pistons 10. Saidcylinders are supported to the under side of the car-body 11, and to thesame are connected a suitable air connection 12, to which air isadmitted by any suitable valve mechanism located on the platform andoperated by the motorman. To the under side of the body and locatedabout midway between the trucks is supported a pintle 13 by means of itsbase-plate 14. On this pintle are mounted levers 15 and 16. immediatelybeneath the lever 15 is pivotally mount ed the operating-lever 17, andbeneath the lever 16 is likewise mounted the operating-lever 18. Thelevers l7 and 18 are connected to the pistons 10, and upon said leversare also mounted yokes 19, which pass around one of the arms of thelevers l5 and 16. The yokes 19 .are provided with a cross-bar 20, thepurpose of which is to come in contact with the arm of the levers l5 and16 when the levers 17 and 18 are operated forwardly by the pistons 10,thereby drawing upon the chains connected to the trucks. The purpose ofthe yokes 19 is to allow freedom to the levers 15 and 16 to cooperate inmovement with the trucks caused by the irregularity of the track whenpower is not applied to the operating mechanism. When power is appliedto the levers 17 and 18, lost motion is employed until the cross-bars 20of the yoke come in contact gitih the arms for the purpose as beforespeci- The operation of my invention is as follows: If it is desired toconvey the car over a curve located at the right of the main track, airis admitted to the cylinder 9, which will operate the lever 17 and thelever 15, thereby drawing upon the chains 21 and 22, giving a lateralmovement to the trucks and causing the wheels 23 and 24 to hug closelyto the rail 8, thereby being able to round the desired curve. To round acurve located at the left of the track, the cylinder 8 is operated,which will, by means of the levers 16 and 18, operate the chains 25 and26 and impart lateral motion to the trucks opposite to that previouslydescribed. In order to convey the car on the straight track and tofreely pass the curved connections of the track, air is admitted intoboth cylinders equally, thereby imparting equal motion upon both sets oflevers and chains, holding both trucks in a perfectly straight and solidposition.

The modified form, as shown in Fig. 4, consists of levers a and Z),their outer ends connected to a plate 0, which plate in turn isconnected to the piston 10. The lever b is provided with a tooth cl,which is designed to come in contact with the tooth formed on a circulardisk said disk to form the same function as the levers 15 and 16, and tosaid disk is connected the chains which operate the trucks.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tohave secured to me by the grant of Letters Patent, is

1. A switching attachment for railway-cars comprising a plurality oflevers carried by the car, flexible connections between the levers andthe trucks, and means for operating said levers from the platform of thecar to impart lateral motion to the trucks for the purpose of switchingthe car, substantially as specified.

2. A switching attachment for railway-cars comprising a plurality oflevers carried by the .ohains connecting the double-arm levers to thetrucks, and means for imparting motion to the operating levers,substantially as specified.

In testimony whereofl have signed my name to this specification inpresence of two subscribing Witnesses.

' HERMAN FENSKE.

Witnesses:

B. S. MUOKENFUSS, Gno. Tums.

